Israeli Health Minister Yael German on Friday said a meeting of experts has decided to expand to the entire country a polio vaccination campaign that began last week in the nation’s southern region, Agence France-Presse reports. German said “thousands” of people in southern Israel were found to be carriers of the virus, and she noted that “children were the target group as they made up over 95 percent of those carrying the virus,” according to the news agency. “The ministry says 20,000 children have so far been vaccinated under the initial program, which will be expanded from August 18,” AFP writes, adding, “German said nobody in Israel had been taken ill with polio since 1988 ‘and we are doing everything’ to stop its return” (8/11).